Stolen Freedom
by Kai Kirisawa
Summary: After crossing paths with Chronos's deadliest assassin, Dan can't help but feel a terrifying connection with Number XIII. What's worse, the assassin has an interest in him as well. But when the unthinkable happens and Dan is kidnapped, he becomes involved in a game of conspiracy, secrets, magic, and murder; only to realized nothing is as it seemed. (AU of Bakugan season 4)
1. Chapter 1

This story has been on my mind for awhile now so I decided to publish it here. It basically follows the _Black Cat_ story plots that combine the anime with the manga, with a few twists of my own design. Many of the characters (especially Train and Dan) are OOC. I don't own any of the characters except the OCs, and refer all the legal rights to the original authors (I'm just being safe).

Note: In this universe, Chronos and Black are from a world known as Geminus, a world parallel to the one Dan and his friends are from.

 **Chapter 1: Enter the Black Cat**

 _World: Geminus; Location: Unknown_

The time of day was night, and the conditions were set. An enormous yellow moon lite up the clear night sky just as the sun would the day, causing the large stone cathedral below it to produce an elongated shadow. A soothing breeze was felt by the man standing on the ledge of the cathedral's window. He leaned against the enormous stain-glass, which gave off elaborate and bright colored blues, reds, and yellows in the moonlight. The breeze moved the man's separated bangs and his pure white coat in waves. He smiled.

The show was about to begin.

An enlarged shadow of a priest's head and hands darkened the glass with their movements. Inside, the priest shook a bowl of incense violently; as it could have been seen through the window. He did so as he spouted pleading prayers in front of his nuns.

" _My Lord Jesus, forgive us of our sins and save us from the fires of Hell. Lead our souls to Heaven, especially those who need your mercy the most. My Lord Jesus forgive us of our sins, save us…"_

The man had stopped listening to the useless rambling a long time ago.

" _I beg you, please Lord! Please Lord."_

But soon it would all end, and there would be silence. There was a slight shift in the air, as if something had sliced through it.

" _My Lord Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of…"_

It happened again, only closer. The man on the ledge opened his eyes with curiosity. _Finally._

Another man appeared. His figure was a dark spot in front of the moon. He flew twenty feet higher than the cathedral's highest tower and then dove towards its courtyard at an impossible speed. He face was serious, his eyes were focused.

He shifted his body weight for his landing, putting his feet in front of his diagonal body, his hair flying everywhere. Passing the stain-glass window, he unwarily pasted the man who smiled as the bottom of his black trench coat glazed his cheek and blew back his hair. Before his heels even touched the cobblestones in the courtyard, the man in black took off fast towards the cathedral's sanctuary. A passing nun barely turned her head towards him when the butt of his revolver hit her face and caused her to fall to the ground unconscious. He did not stop running.

Two more nuns stopped in his path when they heard the first nun's cries. The last thing they saw that night was also the end of the revolver. He continued to run, the skeletons of the tortured men and women were passed by the man's shadow as he flew into the sanctuary. Before anyone could blink he was in the center of the building, surrounded by nuns.

These nuns acted quicker. The pulled off their robes to reveal their army attire and sniper rifles they had hidden and pointed them at their intruder, ready to fire.

If only he wasn't gifted with such amazing reflexes. The frighten 'priest' hardly blinked when all of his 'nuns' were on the ground. Not a single shot was fired; yet. And this man, this assassin, was now at his level, holding him by the hair, forcing him to reveal his chin to the tip of the assassin's black and gold revolver. He gritted his teeth as sweat trickled down his face as the fear for his life swept through him. His eyes widened and his pupils shrank even more so when he saw the man's tattoo, which matched the engraving on the revolver.

XIII

"You're…you're one of them," he gasped. "You're one of the Chronos Numbers aren't you?!"

The man in black made no response to this. Though most of his face was concealed by shadows, he stared at the 'priest' with his slender golden eyes in a way that made the man's blood run cold. They were evil, heartless eyes that glowed in the night much like the eyes of a cat. Without blinking or emotion, he finally uttered the words:

"I've come to deliver some bad luck."

Outside, the act was perfectly visual and enlarged by the window. The smiling man did not turn around however; he just closed his eyes again, waiting. The enlarged shadow of the assassin's index finger slowly pressed down on the trigger as the 'priest' started to cry. The loud bang and the flash of light consumed the inside of the building; some could say there was the echo of a screeching cat in the bullet's blast.

There was silence after that. The 'priest' dropped to the ground. His lifeless body lying where he had stood, his eyes still wide. The assassin was gone. The smiling man laughed with delight, his ice blue eyes wide with pleasure.

"Ah, Fantastic! You're truly one of a kind… _Black Cat_!"

 **BC x BBB**

"We have obtained full confirmation that the target is deceased." The picture of his target vanished off the holographic screen as the Elder took his place, along with the other two Elders.

"Excellent work, Thirteen."

"Your precision and efficiency were once again astounding," the second Elder included. "The tyrant has been eliminated and peace has returned to the village, so to speak."

"Now than," the third Elder spoke up. "On to your next assignment. Though it may prove to be a bit of a challenge, we have all the faith in the worlds you will succeed."

"Your stealth and cunning will be your greatest assets on this mission," the second Elder continued. "Considering its nature is top secret and because it will take place on Earth."

Thirteen blinked.

"Sepheria will fill you in on the impertinent details," the first Elder concluded. With that, the three screens vanished in the light. Sepheria rose up from behind him where she had been kneeling. He did not face her. "Train Heartnet," she said his name with a commanding and clear tone. "Your orders are as follows."

 **BC x BBB**

 _World: Earth; Location: Bayview City, California_

Kiara ran her fingers through her bangs and let them fall back onto her forehead. Standing in front of Dan's house, she couldn't help but sigh with displeasure. She really hated this.

Walking closer to the house, the faint melody of piano keys glided past her with the breeze. Kiara could sense the player's fingers stroking the instrument's keys with ease. The sound was clear and beautiful.

It was Dan's mother that answered the door, she tried to smile with kindness when she saw Kiara, but her eyes were worn and jaded from worrying. This only showed Kiara how much she cared for her son's wellbeing.

"Please come in," she spoke softly so as not to disturb the music. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen." Sliding past her, Kiara crept into the kitchen and opened the freezer. She lifted a good sized cylinder off its resting place and placed it on the counter along with two bowls, spoons, and a scooper. Popping off the cylinder's lid showed smooth untouched ice cream, ready to be cratered by the scoop.

After preparing the ice cream she set the scoop down with the metal side sticking out to the side of the counter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the scoop fall towards the floor. Narrowing her eyes, the scoop froze in thin air. Discretely, she stuck out her hand and it flew into her palm silently. She didn't want the music to be disrupted, did she?

"I saw that." A voice from behind her stated. Smirking, she set the scoop back on the counter, picked up the two bowls and started carrying them to the living room.

"Saw what?" She asked innocently to her Bakugan friend Drago, who was no more the size of a large red marble at the moment-he even looked like one. Drago laughed and flew over to her shoulder and popped out of his sphere form into the form of a miniature mechanical dragon.

In the living room Dan was still unaware that Kiara was behind him, she just stood there quietly waiting for the song to end. It had really surprised her that her friend Dan could play the piano so flawlessly, he really was not the piano playing type. This was probably the reason the blinds were down; among other things.

"You could play it an octave lower," she stated when he finished. Dan jumped a little at the sound of her voice, and then turned around with an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Do you really think so?" He laughed half-heartedly. Kiara shook her head and handed him his bowl of ice cream. She then plopped down to the stool next to him as Drago hopped from her shoulder to his. After two minutes of silence, Kiara started the conversation.

"I still can't believe you can play. In all the years I've known you I never thought of you playing a piano." With Dan's personality, the guitar or drums maybe, but the piano?

He smiled softly. "Yeah, I only recently started playing again." he said. "When I was younger, Mom made me take lessons. I loved it, but my patience told the teacher otherwise." He stared at his bowl. "It's just… now I have nothing else to do but play."

Kiara gave him a look of worry. The energetic boy she known for so long had become this…this…there were no words for Dan's current state. His eyes that use to be so bright and cheerful were now tired and showed lassitude in their almost maroon irises from lack of sleep. She could not blame him though, every time she was with their friends, the stares she got made her feel guilty of being the interloper of the group, and only because wasn't officially 'one of them'.

"So how is everyone?" Drago asked, changing the subject.

"Fine," she smacked her lips to get the chocolate that was stuck to the upper part of her mouth. "More or less."

"How so?" Dan asked.

"Marucho wants to sort things out with you," she began, "but he's caught between being a good friend and being a team player. Shun…" She then paused trying to find the right words for their friend, "Shun pretty much lost it when you left, I think. He's been battling so much, saying he wants to get the team back on top, but I think it's just because he can't talk about his emotions."

Dan clinched his fist around his spoon; Kiara's sudden change in tone matched the look in her eyes, she was worried about them and their friendship. When the 'disagreement'-Dan did not want to call it a fight- between him and his friends began two months ago, Drago and Kiara were the only once that stood by him. Drago's loyalty to Dan was unquestionable though, he was his partner, and the bond they shared couldn't be severed by anything. That and Drago knew why Dan was 'disagreeing' with his teammates.

Kiara was a different story. Marucho had called her while she was on vacation for back up after Dan and Shun's 'disagreement' had gotten out of hand, despite knowing the heavy emotional stress it would have on her heart. But it couldn't have been helped, Kiara was the only one who could reason with Shun and she was far too loyal to the team to not try to settle things between them.

But the outcome was nothing anyone had expected. Though Kiara had started out as an innocent peacemaker, anyone could see that she choose to side with Dan on the matter, whatever it was. In her mind, the team was being prejudice towards their leader for having a nervous breakdown in the middle of a battle. Though the fact that his pride and stubbornness on the subject did not help him either, but she believed that there was a deep, personal problem that had occurred recently that was causing this sudden personality change. She also believed that the team's lack of compassion and concern for their leader and friend was morally wrong. Their lack of privacy was another.

 _Friends do not betray their friends._ This was a moral she herself lived by.

Just then the clock struck noon. They all knew Kiara would have to leave soon to go pick up dinner for her cousins because her parents always went out on Friday. "Well, I guess that's my cue." She picked up the bowls and headed into the kitchen, reappearing seconds later and heading to the door.

"Dan, Drago," Dan's mother called from upstairs, "could you go to the market with Kiara? I need some milk for tonight."

"Mom…" Dan groaned.

"Or, you could stay here and do yoga with me." Without answering, Dan quickly grabbed his jacket and was dragging Kiara out the door, Drago fluttering behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Tell Me Everything Dan**

Walking down the streets of Bayview, Kiara tried to keep Dan preoccupied by having him help her figure out the meal she would prepare for her family that night. She had to admit it wasn't the best plan she had ever thought of, but it was the only that she could do to keep Dan from feeling awkward on the streets. "What about sushi?" He suggested.

Okay, that almost made her want to slap him. "If I place a _fish_ on the table in front of my cousin's I will never hear the end of it! So no, no _fish_!No sushi!" She cried.

"O…kay," Dan said taking a step back in surprise. Kiara signed.

"I'm sorry, it's just my cousin Sierra believes eating any creature from the ocean is a sin. One time, I put one small shrimp in my mouth and didn't hear the end of it for six months." She shuddered at the memory. Dan looked at the pop-up marble on his shoulder and burst into laughter.

"What?" "Nothing," he laughed. "It's just that this is the first time in five years that I've seen you say something so…spastic." He smiled at her with amusement.

"So?" She asked.

"It's nice. It's different from the calm and composed persona I'm used to seeing you wear every day." They continued walking a little further, passing a campaign billboard for their newly elected governor with the slogan _Lib Tyrant: A Governor for the People_ plastered on it. As they turned, a huge red dome peaked out from the greenery of the trees surrounding it. They both halted.

Dozens of teenagers appeared and disappeared behind the wall of trees, colorful Bakugan spheres floating after them. This was not an uncommon site; millions of people from all over the world entered similar buildings like this one every hour. Once inside, they were brought to a room that transported them and their Bakugan to a virtual world by breaking down their molecule structure into a computer. There, the players could interact with each other and participate in battles which revealed their Bakugan's true form. It was a game, a real-life multiplayer game and for almost two years, one boy and his Bakugan had dominated the world with his friends' right behind him.

Those were the glory day, but now they were just memories for Dan and Drago, probably forever.

He tried to go forward towards the dome, but was stopped by a gentle tug on his arm. He looked and saw Kiara giving him a soft, girly smile. "Let's go this way," she pointed towards the marina that was to the right of the dome, and then gracefully pulled him behind her towards it and away from the dome. Normally he would have complained about not going to the dome, he loved that place, but he knew what would happen to them if they set one foot in there. He knew what would happen to Kiara, so he let her do as she pleased; it was better that way anyhow.

She hated it. She hated that they couldn't go near the dome. She hated the images that popped into her head of what would happen if they did. She lowered her head so her bangs covered her tearing eyes.

The street abruptly ended as they entered the marina's park. She let go of Dan's arm and rubbed her eyes, opening them to a blazing sun. On one side, the calm bay, whose boat produced waves reflected the light off of its surface. On the other side, calm grass fields that had a few bushes and trees. A huge cobblestone walkway was sandwiched in between them.

"Kiara…" he began.

"I… I couldn't. I couldn't let you walk through there and have people glare at you and judge you," she choked. "It would have been too much. I'm sorry." Dan stayed silent, which for him was strange. He wanted to reassure her that it was alright and he understood why she did it. Kiara, despite lacking a Bakugan partner, she always looked out for her friends, especially when they behaved arrogantly and didn't think about the consequences that came from their actions- when they weren't looking out for themselves.

He stared at his friend with sad eyes that drifted to his feet. He knew he had become a shell of his former self, and in only two months. The happy-go-lucky boy that everyone was used to having around was now distant and serious person; the only good things that were coming out of all this were that he had become more aware of surroundings and he was getting to see and know more about Kiara.

"This is so stupid," she continued. "You should not be fighting over stupid things. You're a _team_ for crying out loud! You, Marucho, and Shun have always fought together as a team. Now they're telling me that their best friend and leader is a threat to that very team! What's with that? Dan, what's going on!?" Kiara didn't understand. But then, Dan wasn't sure that any one, not even Drago, could understand what he was going through. What she did know was that he was in trouble, but she didn't know why. However, as their team leader, he had to protect his team no matter what happened to him.

"I just want things to be normal again. I want you and Shun to partner up without Shun second guessing you." Dan looked at Drago for approval, if he was going to let anyone know about their plan it might as well be Kiara.

"Kiara, we have something to tell you that I think you should know." she looked at them.

"Even before all of this started, Dan and I were considering retiring from the league." Drago stated bluntly.

She blinked in disbelief, "What?"

"It's nothing personal Kiara," Dan intercepted. "It's just time for the next generation of brawler to take the stage," he grinned half-heartedly at her. "Besides, I, we, have nothing to prove anyway. I mean, I helped create the game Bakugan and I was the number one player in the league for two years. No one else can say that."

"Dan…"

"We had a good run Kiara, but let's face it, I could only play in the league until I was nineteen anyways." Kiara couldn't believe what she just heard, she didn't believe it. It sounded like Dan was giving up. Dan never gave up.

"But if you quiet now you'll lose Shun and Marucho's trust for good because what you're saying will only prove to them that you were hiding things from them. Don't you two see that?!"

 _If that's what it takes it takes to keep them safe._ His eyes were serious, and his face showed an expression that was impossible to read. Kiara signed and took a few steps, then quickly turned on her heels and pretty much threw Dan into the bushes and forcing Drago to fly off his shoulder. She then took off in the opposite direction.

"Hey," Dan groaned.

"Dan, look." Drago hissed. He did. In the distance another boy with sleek black hair appeared with the crowd of people. She had caught his eye, but she had seen him first. Shun Kazami.

"Kiara," he called to her.

"Shun," she acted surprised to see him.

"What are doing?"

"I was on my way to the market and I just had to stop to look at the water," her voice was calm and casual; it was just another talk with a friend. "I have to go to the market to buy dinner for my cousins, who I have to watch every Friday this month because my parents are working in that gallery your dad is going to be in next month." Kiara knew that Shun was glad that she was back in town after she had gone on 'vacation' for a few weeks, but she also knew that the idea of her being the teams 'liaison' with Dan and siding with him in their fight did not sit well with him at all. He had been trying to get a date with her for weeks because of that very fact. "And what are you doing here?"

"I have to go to Bakugan Interspace to help stop some players from going out of control in battle, it's become really hard to control them since…" he stopped.

"I know," she said sympathetically. There was silence for a moment as if neither knew what to say. The longer it went, the heavier the reality of the matter seemed to them.

"Why did it turn out like this?" Kiara whispered suddenly. Shun looked at her, Dan watched from the brushes, shocked at her sudden change.

"What?"

"Dan is you best friend, he's been the leader of the team since you two created Bakugan five years ago, now you're telling me that Dan has suddenly become a threat to the very team that he has devoted his life too! Why? I don't understand…" Tears formed in her eyes, she was so confused about all of this. Shun's face filled with concern as the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"You and Marucho turned on him because, one day, he had a breakdown in the middle of your tag team battle, right? Ever since, he's been distant and secretive towards you and as a result you're pretty much treating him like his the enemy. I know that you're worried about him and that you don't like secrets, but did you ever think that he kept those secrets to protect you?" She asked accusingly.

Shun reacted to her words defensively by grabbing her arm. "Dan is still our friend and we want to help him, but we can't because we don't know anything and he did tell us anything."

"So you kicked him off the team, marked him as a liability to the league, but you still call him your friend yet refuse to speak to him because he didn't tell you everything that goes on in his life, and for losing it one time." Shun was silent.

In a small spark of rage, she slapped Shun's hand away from her. All of this was happing because of miscommunication? "Tell me this," she choked. "Was taking Dan's place as team leader your way of _helping_ him?" Her words were icy and full of hatred. Shun just stood there, totally stunned by what Kiara had just accused him of. When he did not respond to her immediately, she turned her back on him and ran as fast as she could from him.

Dan and Drago were just as speechless as their friend was. Never in all their lives had they ever heard Kiara say such things with such venom in her tone. Mentally slapping themselves back into reality, they managed to crawl out of the park without catching Shun's eye. Just as they got the edge of the park, they saw him leave the park, the shocked look still blazed on his face. Watching him go, Dan continued looking for his friend. He eventually found her sobbing on a bench near the entrance and sat down next to her. She didn't look at him.

"I said too much, didn't I?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself," she sniffed. "You have nothing to be sorry for!" Drago suddenly stated, floating in front of her, "You're as much of a victim as we are and we are grateful to you for everything you have done for us."

She gave him a weak smile, "Thank you." She went quiet after that, as if waiting for herself to calm down. Looking at Dan, she knew that she still wanted someone-anyone- to tell her why things were the way they were, but decided to put it off until later. After a few minutes, she and Dan were waiting for the crosswalk sign to turn green, acting as if her argument with Shun had never happened.

"So I was thinking of serving pizza for dinner tonight," she told Drago as they walked across the street, oblivious to Dan who had lingered back behind them, staring at Kiara. She was beautiful. Her long brown hair covered her entire back to her waist when she wore it down-which was all the time-was complete with thick bangs that covered her forehead and two long, thick tendrils that framed each side of her face. Her skin was as flawless as ivory and pearl combined. And, of course, there were her eyes. Kiara's eyes were unlike any normal human beings, they were the darkest, richest brown eyes he had ever seen that seemed to possess a deep intelligence and understanding.

And yet…

They were also the largest, innocent, and the brightest eyes he had ever seen. It was ironic really, how eyes so dark could shine as bright as hers did, but it was true, and Dan had been kicking himself ever since for not realizing it sooner. Granted it wasn't really his fault, Kiara never did anything to enhance her appearance. Actually, she did everything to hide it! She wore baggy and boyish clothes, and never did anything draw attention to herself. Never the less Drago was right, they were grateful to her. She stood by them when no one else did; she believed and cried for them. She was a loyal friend who made his heart skip a beat when she smiled. It was moments like these that made him a little glad that what happened had happened. Still, he knew what had happened shouldn't have and he would eventually have to tell some about what he saw. But the truth was not even he understood what was happening, and he was determined to find out what he was fighting before anyone else got fully involved.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he signed and stepped into the street just as Kiara stepped on to the sidewalk. The crosswalk was packed with pedestrians going one way or the other. Dan kept looking straight towards Kiara and hardly noticed those traveling in the opposite direction of him. Unfortunately, the worn tail of a black trench coat suddenly appeared out of the corner of his eye. Its wearer passed him and whispered softly into his ear, then continued walking and disappeared as fast as he had appeared.

 _It was him!_

Dan froze, completely paralyzed. His heart stopped abruptly when he heard the man's voice. Color drained from his face and his eyes widened with horror. His senses were fading, just like before. The color black began to blur his vision and was consuming him in darkness. To making things worse, a car appeared out of nowhere and was hurdling down toward the intersection and showed no signs of stopping. Its horn didn't reach his ears, for they were too preoccupied with the words that man had said that were causing his mind to shut down.

" _I'm coming for you!"_

"Dan!"

Kiara looked back and screamed his name before breaking into a dead run towards him, Drago flying after her. A look of pure terror was blazoned on her face. Dan didn't move, he just stood there and stared at her until slipping into the darkness. He had no control over his mind now, and that was only the beginning of what was to come.

The speeding car was only seconds away from turning Dan into a hood ornament and he still wasn't responding to her. Drago was also yelling at Dan to get out of the way and for Kiara to hurry, but she knew at this rate she'd never reach him in time. There was another way though, there was something else she could do, but she couldn't. There were too many bystanders around. No, she had to save him, no matter what she had too!

Still running, she shut her eyes, she forcing her aura to slow the time around her, concentrating it so everything else worked in slow motion.

 _Time freeze._

Reopening them, she saw that the car was just inches away from Dan's body, but now so was she. Lifting both feet of the pavement she glided through the thin air, wrapped her arms around his waist, and soared passed the car's hood back into the bushes of the park. Her face smashed against Dan's upper stomach and chest, they tumbled in the leaves and shrubs as time caught up with her.

Without warning, she felt a strange vibration whip itself through her mind. Kiara flashed her eyes open to see that she was lying flat on her stomach in total darkness. She quickly looked around, Dan was no were to be seen. Getting to her feet, she looked down at her hands to see a light that was being emitted throughout her body, giving light to the darkness.

A chill ran down her spine, there was an overwhelmingly powerful evil in this place, which obviously meant she was not in the marina's park or even Earth for that matter. So, where was she?

This place- this dimension- was consumed by ominous black and red smog which covered the both the _open_ sky and the ground. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Kiara noticed long, thin chains that appeared here and there in this empty space as far as the eye could see. They appeared in to be growing out of the ground and went upward every which way towards the sky and disappeared.

Footsteps and panting struck her ears. Beyond a few chains Dan ran past her, he didn't seem to see her. She tried to call out to him, but she then realized her words were mute and would not come out, all she could do was watch him run in the dark. She then tried to move forward to get to him but paused, for her legs would not separate, she couldn't move. Looking down to see a chain growing out of the ground and wrapping itself around her legs, she tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge, much to her horror.

A shadowy figure suddenly jumped out from a cluster of chains in front of him. Dan screamed and tried to run in another direction, but the figure blocked his path.

"Who are you? Answer me!" He screamed at the figure that made no reply. In Dan's eyes, Kiara could see that he was complete terrified by this man. Not wanting an answer, Dan turned around and ran in the other direction. From where she stood, Kiara could not see the figures face; only that he wore a worn black trench coat. The figure raised his arm and pointed a large revolver at Dan. Kiara gasped and covered her eyes. Dan was still running.

 _Bang!_

The color red appeared through the holes of her fingers; heart about to break, Kiara slowly dropped them from her eyes and looked up. The smog was gone, replaced by a bright red horizon where a red sky met a glowing white ground. The chains, however, still existed.

Seeing that her legs were still bound together, she tried to shift her body to loosen them. As she did, she noticed the ground ripple red under her. This was not earth; it was some kind of lake. Her heart dropped when she saw the color.

 _Blood?_

Frantic, she glanced from side to side trying to locate Dan. She found him a few yards away from her. He had stopped his excessive running, his back facing her. The shadowy figure was nowhere in sight. Desperate to get his attention before the figure decided to return, Kiara began to hop up and down as much as she could to make tiny ripples on the solid liquid surface; praying that he would see the tiny waves under his feet. Sadly, the waves smoothed themselves out before they reached him. He still had no idea she was there.

"No," she heard, "No…not again! He did it again!" He took a step back and started to run again, Kiara looked to see something lying on the floor that had been concealed by her friend's body, her heart dropped. It was a man, bobbing out of the water's surface, dead. His eyes were as wide as she had ever seen. From what she could make out, he wore the robes of a priest.

Dan screamed. Turning her head, she saw he was being attacked. The straight chains that seemed to solely exist for dramatic affect began to move, snaking their ends away from the red sky and curling down to Dan's height, he still didn't stop running. As he quickly glanced over his shoulder, the chains shot out at him. Even as they coiled around his limbs and neck he still tried to get away. Dan tried to resist being pulled back by the restrains. He took one step forward and they hurled him backwards and downwards, towards the water. The chains were disappearing into the lake, sinking Dan in the process. Kiara couldn't move, couldn't speak, and now she was unable to breathe; all she could do was watch as her friend struggled to get away to his freedom, but to no avail.

 _"I'm coming for you!"_

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, its owner dark and serious. Kiara clasped her hands over her mouth, staring with more horror in her eyes than before at the reality in front of her. The moment he heard those words, Dan stopped struggling. It was as if those words had transformed him. His ankles began to sink into the water, Kiara screamed silently. She had no idea what was wrong with him, but the fear for her friend was spreading throughout her body.

 _This can't be real. It has to be a dream, a nightmare! This has to stop now, because if it doesn't…_ one of Kiara's greatest fears was being unable to protect the people she cared for. This was utter torture. Then, something inside her snapped. Dan's lifeless body flew down with the force of the chains and hit the surface. The water than began to absorb him.

" _NOO!"_

Her scream seemed to break through the sound barrier and erupted across the lake. The light around her burst and began consuming her and everything around her body. Dan turned his head at the noise to see a sudden bright light swallowing everything in its path. As it moved closer, the chains that bound him dissolved into dust even before the light touched them. When the light waved over him, a sense of relief and security came with it. The cold darkness, that he had seen one time too many, seemed nonexistent in this now beautiful place that had wrapped itself around him. It was a little surprising to him though. Of all the other times he had been here before this had never had happened before when he was in this state, but he didn't care. He just closed his eyes and let the light carry him away.

But, what had caused it?

 **BC x BBB**

Kiara gasped. Opening her eyes she her head on top of Dan's chest and her person lying next to him. She quickly sat up; embarrassed.

Sunlight streamed through the trees around them as the sound of a steamboat horn filled the air. They were back in the park, surrounded by bushes. Dan was lying on the ground motionless, his face ghostly pale and his eyes shut tight.

"Kiara, are you alright?" Drago jumped at her the minute she got up, his voice frantic and his tiny wings flapping violently.

"Wha…what happened?" She put her hand on her head to keep it from spinning. _What a nightmare._ "You saved Dan," Drago exclaimed. "You managed to get to him in time and pulled him away to safety into the bushes. I caught up with you after you stopped rolling down the hill, but you were both unconscious when I arrived. I was afraid that you had a concussion from the fall."

"I was…unconscious?"

"For at least five minutes." Drago noted.

"Five minutes," Impossible. There was no way that was true. Everything she had heard, seen, felt… it was all so real, the images were still vivid in her mind. She was absolutely positive she had gone to another dimension, even though she was fully aware that _she_ had not opened any dimensional gateways. And the _time,_ Drago said they were unconscious for only five minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Now sitting there in disbelief, Kiara tried to make since of everything she had seen: the darkness, the body, Dan running…

Wait… _Dan!_

The moment she thought of him, Dan's breath returned to his body. He snapped his eyes open and lifted his upper body off the grass, panting.

Drago was quick to react to him. "It's okay Dan," he said trying to calm his partner. "It's okay."

It was far from okay, "Drago, he's back!"

"What?"

"I saw him! He's back and he's coming for me!" His voice was shaky and he was still pale, Drago knew what Dan was feeling, he also knew that the hotheaded human would hate himself later because of said feeling.

"Dan calm down!"

"I can't!" He grabbed his hair and started to rub it, "Ahh, I don't believe this I was so careful! I haven't had any nightmares or visions about him in days, I thought that…" his voice drifted, a mixer of frustrated anger and fear were in his eyes and tone. Kiara had never seen Dan like this, he was completely freaked out. But then, who wouldn't be. Not even she had seen visions that scary.

Wait… _visions?!_

That had to be it, the answer to so many questions. It was common knowledge that dreams and visions were a person's psychic energy tapping into time and space, or in this case the subconscious mind, and that humans shared this power with her kind. However, though there were few who could master these abilities, the humans' lack of in-depth understanding usually caused them to write it off as the brain's psyche reacting to something- which was true- yet nothing else.

This was more serious, Dan wasn't having normal versions. The only logical explanation Kiara could see was that something, no someone, had linked his subconscious mind to Dan's and was feeding him these nightmares and images.

That was it. Some powerful psychic had created a link with Dan and was manipulating his subconscious, trapping him in his own nightmare, which explained why everything felt so really and appeared as though they had gone to another dimension when it was nothing more than an illusion.

Kiara shivered. She had merely been an observer in there, but Dan…to have actually been apart of something like that was a terrifying thought. Any normal person probably would have gone mad in three days, but Dan had been enduring it for two months now. How was that possible? Was Dan a psychic too? No, the real question was _why_ would someone want Dan to see…what he saw?

"Ahh I'm so sick of these stupid things!" Dan continued to complain to Drago throughout this thought process, he didn't even see Kiara was just a few feet away. "I know it sounds dumb Drago, but it feels so real. The darkness, the freaky shadow chains …Him _._ " He looked at Drago, "I wish I knew what he wanted."

"Who's _He_?"

Dan's head snapped back at Kiara's voice, he had completely forgotten she was there. _Oh man,_ he remembered being in the street, the sound of a car, and seeing Kiara's scared face. Now they were in the park. Kiara had saved him.

Looking at Kiara now, her long hair was tangled and had leaves and twigs sticking out of it. Her eyes were still frightened, but seemed to be pleading with him to answer.

 _No._ "Uh, no one," he looked away, trying to be blunt. _No she can't get involved. No one, especially her, can get involved._

Without warning, she grabbed his arm. "Dan, I saw it! Everything! The darkness, the dead priest, everything!" She screamed at him, her words shocked him.

"What! How- ?" He didn't say anything about the dead man being a priest, how did she know? Kiara narrowed her eyes and looked away.

"Dan," Drago spoke. "I think it's time we told Kiara everything." He spoke with concern, but knew it was time.

"No, Drago we…" He started to argue stubbornly but stopped when Kiara squeezed his arm.

"Dan…" She looked at him, causing their eyes to lock on to each other's gaze as she spoke, trapping his eyes in the lights in hers' that now flicked with determination.

"Dan," she said again, "Tell me everything."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! So I was originally not going to publish this chapter until I had a review for this story, but here it is. I hope you enjoy.**

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Chapter 3: Dan's Story

After successfully helping Kiara pick the leaves out of her hair, Dan found himself sitting on a park bench overlooking the bay. As he sat there, he felt her presents sitting next to him: her arms crossed and one of her legs resting on top of the other, her intense gaze boring into his body. In other words, he was a little uncomfortable, and Drago wasn't doing anything to help.

"Well?" Kiara asked a little impatiently. She wanted answers, and she wasn't letting up until she got some.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me even if I told you." He said finally.

Kiara raised an eyebrow, "Try me." This was true. For some strange unknown reason, Kiara seemed to be well versed in the ways of the supernatural and had a knack for believing in the unbelievable. If anyone was going to listen and fully believe Dan, it would be her. But-

"Daniel, if you don't tell her, _I_ will." Drago threatened.

"Okay, okay," he surrendered to the dragon. Looking down at his lap he tried to find the right words to fit what they -he-had experienced.

"I guess…it all started about two months ago…"

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Dan felt like he was on top of the world, and why wouldn't he? He and Drago had just won their fifth battle in a row; their number one spot was safe for another day.

"Aww yeah! We killed it today, Drago!" He cried.

"I must admit you did very well in your last battle." Their friend Marucho inquired.

"I agree." Shun calmly said.

"Of course," Dan said proudly, "And next week Drago and Jaakor are going to battle for the top spot. Right Shun?"

"We're looking forward to the challenge." As the trio and their Bakugan made their way out of Bakugan Interspace, Dan couldn't help but notice the sky was dark and cloudy, the rays of the sun were reflecting off their bottoms. He checked his watch.

"Oh man, I should've been home half an hour ago! Mom's going to kill me if I'm late for dinner again." He started to jog off in the direction towards his house, but not before turning back to his two friends. "Hey Shun, I just remembered, say 'hi' to Kiara for me when you call her tonight."

"Will do, Dan." satisfied, Dan continued to jog down the sidewalk with Drago on his shoulder.

"When do you think Kiara will return from her vacation?"

"I don't know. She's been gone for two weeks, so it has to be soon, right?"

The rays of the quiet sun were almost gone and were replaced by low rumble of a graying sky. People started to hurry on the sidewalk as the streetlights came on as Dan weaved his way through them on the sidewalk. Hearing the thunder that was chasing him, he knew that if he continued going straight though the city like this he would never make it home in time before the rain started to pour.

Unless…

Drago watched as his partner made a sharp turn and ran down another street. He watched as the city streets became less crowded, empty, and the building became more rundown. He looked up to Dan, even though he had no facial expression, he was a little concerned about what was going on in Dan's head.

"Where are we going?" He final asked.

"Look Drago, I know what you're going to say, but I don't want to get caught in the rain and this is the fastest way to our house." Dan replied in a reluctant, I-don't-care sort of way. This did not waver the dragon's concern, for he knew that this was a bad part of town, full of gangsters and thugs who were always looking for easy targets. The few people on the street eyed them and Drago groaned uncomfortably.

"Relax dude," Dan said trying to reassure his Bakugan, "I'll take care of anyone of these guys if they so much as breathe on us." Dan was arrogant at the time; he didn't think anything or anyone could touch him. He was overly confident in himself which often got him into trouble. Little did he know that that attitude would soon change.

As the clouds grew darker, Dan stopped to catch his breath; the streets were now completely empty and quiet. He hated quiet; it made him feel awkward and tense. A shiver ran down his spin alarmed him. Looking around, he began to think that taking this shortcut was a bad idea, but he could not figure out why. There was not a soul on the street, yet he felt that someone was looking down on it-waiting- with terrible intentions in mind.

There was a clap of thunder, than another, than…

 _Bang!_

Out of habit his legs dashed forward towards the sound, ignoring Drago's pleas to turn back and letting his curiosity get the better of him. Just as he was about to go up the hill, Dan looked up and saw a figure pass under a glowing street lamp holding something. Squinting, he tried to make out what it was. Realizing it, he took a step back, for the thing the man was holding was nothing more than an AK47.

Seeing that this had been a bad idea, he ran across the street to its right side just as the second man appeared. Completely unsure of what else to do, he ducked into a large alleyway that was close by. Sadly, it was a dead end, consisting of only three brick faces and a dirt ground. No doors, no windows, just a few trash cans bunched together on the left and a dull, flickering light hanging on that wall. There were also a few pieces of junk on the ground.

Hearing the sudden roar of a car engine, Dan had a feeling that they needed to hide. Because he could not go anywhere else, he ran over to the trash cans and crouched behind them, waiting. As the two men came into his view, Dan saw their pace slow and their heads turn, as if they were surveying the area. Looking around the trash cans, Dan and Drago saw them motion for something to come forward. A set of lights slowly glazed the street before them; headlights. Attached to those headlights was a white limousine that crept from behind the wall opposite of the one they were next to. It moved slowly, almost cautiously.

This was not right. For one, a fancy limousine to be driving around this part of Bayview was completely unheard of. Two, for the same fancy limousine to be driving around this part of Bayview slowly with men who were carrying illegal weapons- as if escorting it-was insane. The question was why? Too bad this was way over Dan's area on expertise.

As the back side of the limousine passed the entrance of the alley, Dan noticed that the passenger window was down. Moving his head above the trash lids to get a better look, he took out his cellphone, his eyes staring at the window with an unwavering look in them. Drago saw this, but didn't say anything because he knew what Dan was trying to do. It was dangerous, but Dan was not the type of person to let something bad happen if he knew about it. Plus, he was not stupid. Actually, he lived for danger.

With nothing but the distant street lights and the flickering alley light to help him, Dan narrowed his eyes to focus them on the person in the backseat. He could faintly see thin wisps of smoke coming off a glowing red butt that hovered in the darkness. Leaning into the trash cans to try to get a better look, he ducked down each time the light flickered. Though he had yet to see a face, Dan knew this guy was wearing a white hat.

 _Crash!_

A bolt of lightning lite up the sky; the combination of light and sound short circuited the light and made Dan jump, pushing the trash can he was behind over. Though he tried to grab it, the can slipped through his fingers and fells to the ground, but not before making enough noise to wake the dead.

He froze as the limousine came to a sudden halt. Holding his breath, he saw the cigar butt point in his direction. Scrabbling, he and Drago went over to another trash can and listened as two voices had a muttered conversation and sound of footsteps closing in. He reached for his phone, only to realize he had dropped it when he tried to grab the trash can. Frantic, he felt his way around the darkness trying to find something to defend himself with. Patting the moist ground with his fingertips, he brushed them against something cold and metallic. Putting his hand on it, he felt it to be a metal pipe. Without thinking he grabbed it and pulled it close to his chest, unsure of how it was supposed to help him against an AK47. The footsteps grew louder. Dan looked at Drago with still unwavering eyes and clutched the pipe with both of his hands.

"Hey you, what are you doing here?" Dan was ready to jump and attack, but hesitated.

"Hey stop, what are you doing…stop! I'll shoot… Aargh!" Dan realized that it was another guard who was yelling and it was at someone else. He heard the footsteps of the man sent to find him retreating-fast- to go help his comrade.

Against his better judgment, he looked between the trash cans and say five guards with AK47's surrounding the passenger's rear door, one was even on the roof of the limousine. The door suddenly opened and a fat man in a white suit and hat with a cigar in his mouth stepped out, looking in the same direction as his men. Dan could not help but see that they all had the expression of awe and fear on their faces. He did not understand what they were looking at because his restricted view. Was it this newcomer?

Without warning a shadowy figure flew over the limousine, grabbed the guard on its roof, and disappeared to the other side of the alley. It happened so fast that it took everyone a second to fathom what had just happened. Before the group could turn around, the dark figure appeared behind one of them and hit him on the back of the neck with an oddly shaped weapon. He hit the guard with such force that he landed on the ground with a loud thud. Another guard yelled and tried to attack and the figure with the end of his rifle, but the figure ducked down and elbowed him in the stomach. With one arm, he grabbed the guard's hair and threw him over to the other side of the limousine. The remaining guards were fiddling with their rifles to get them ready to shoot, but their hands were now shaking so much that they were having trouble setting them. Just as they did so, the dark figure ran towards them and knocked them both out with one swipe of his arm. Now only the fat man stood. Not a single shot was fired; yet.

The fat man's expression was the same as the priest's: wide eyes, gritted teeth, and he was shaking all over. Staring at the figure in front of him, he took a small step back, than another, than another. Than the figure- a man- turned towards him and he froze in fear.

Dan couldn't tear his eyes from the scene, the man was not normal- he was fast, incredibly fast, and strong. Of all the things he had seen in his life, he had never seen a man such as this- a man who attacked without mercy. Despite the darkness, he had seen everything: everything except the attacker's face. Now, staring at the man's back, Dan felt his heart beat start to quicken with anticipation. Normally, he would have called the man out or intervened in some way but he just sat there, staring at this scene. This feeling was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Was this…?

The man suddenly grabbed the fat man by the suit and pinned his back to the side of the limousine. The fat man cried out in terror as his cigar to the street. This was not right, nothing about this seemed right.

"Please," he heard the man beg. "Please, I'll give you anything. Anything! What do you want? Why did you come here?" There was a certain panic in the fat man's voice, but then, who could blame him? But the attacker made no response. Instead he lifted his other arm, the one with his weapon in it, and pointed it at him. Dan just sat there, Drago perched on his shoulder, stunned.

 _Click._ It was a sound that almost everyone recognized, yet it was so foreign to his ears that he almost leaped out from his skin. The figure, this man, he was a…

"I've come to deliver some bad luck." Dan stood up. The fat man screamed.

 _Bang!_

If Dan had been paying close attention to it, he would have heard the yeow of a cat.

That figure, that _assassin_ , had killed him. No hesitation and no mercy. The fat man in the white hat slumped over and fell onto the street, dead. Dan's brain could not comprehend what he had just witnessed. The assassin did not seem to notice Dan's presence; he just holstered his revolver and stood over the body. Nothing about him showed an ounce of remorse for what he had done. Dan's body would not move, even though a part of his mind was telling him to run away. The rest was focused on the deafening sound the bullet had made when the revolver was fired.

Still staring at the scene before him, that unknown feeling he had increased. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what to think, didn't know how to act. His mind was totally blank and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, his breathing halted. The longer he stared at the man, the more he felt that strange and horrific feeling pulse through him with each heartbeat. He had never felt this way before, towards anything or anyone. This man…he struck _fear_ into Dan- an emotion that he had never truly felt before.

Being distracted, Dan did not feel his arms drop to his sides. Nor did he feel his grip on the pipe loosen and slip through his fingers, landing on the ground with a thud.

At the sound, the assassin turned his head sharply and directly at him. Before Dan realized it, the dark assassin was standing just inches in front of him. He grabbed Dan by his shirt collar and pulled him over the trash cans so fast that it knocked Drago off his shoulder. Without warning he threw Dan against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The assassin then grabbed his neck and squeezed as he pinned Dan to the wall.

"It's considered rude to spy on someone," the moment he spoke Dan knew he had every right to be afraid. Though he had just killed a man the tone of the assassin's voice was so calm, cold, and emotionless. This man was obviously a professional who had little regard for human life. Was that the reason why he was afraid? Because he knew that his life could be taken away so easily? Many of his enemies had threatened to destroy him in the past, but he had never paid any attention to them. Was it because at the time he had been too focused and determined on the job at hand to worry or care? Or was it because he had always had his friends with him to make sure that did not happen? Either way none of that mattered now, he knew this man was seriously thinking about killing him right then, and Dan was seriously terrified that there was nothing he could do about it.

Terrified and disoriented, but not willing to show it, he started to struggle and clawed the assassin's arm to get out of his grip. No matter how scared he was, Dan was stubborn. After everything he had been though, he refused to allow himself to die in an alleyway at the hands of this man. He was a warrior, he would fight till the very end, and he would face anything that threatened him and his friends head on.

He grimaced in pain as the hand that held him tightened, squeezing his throat and cutting off his oxygen. Gritting his teeth and opened one of his eyes, trying to focus it on the assassin. He stopped struggling. Now he was also being held captive by the assassin's eyes.

They were glowing. Even in the darkness, the light they gave off was bright and- no matter how menacing- was what drew Dan to stare into them. The color in their glowing irises was color of yellow, but it was so rich most probably would have said they were gold. The pupils in them were slender, similar to the pupils on a snake or a cat. They were unlike any pair of eyes Dan had seen before, and he had seen a few. They pierced into his very soul with a paralyzing gaze and stole every ounce of courage he had summoned. He realized that there was nothing he could do, he was going to die. Murdered at the hands of this man, whose very presence filled him with fear and whose eyes filled him with despair.

Dan breaths were slow and shallow and his head still hurt from coming in contact with the wall, but he made no attempt to move, nor did he try to break his gaze from the assassin's. Slowly his senses began to recover and he began to grow confused, for the assassin had not taken out his revolver to kill him. It seemed like he was wondering what to do with Dan, which was surprising because he just took out six armed men without hesitation. Yet he just held him against the wall and studied at him. Was it possible he knew who Dan was?

"Forget everything you saw here tonight, got it?" He was serious. Dan could not believe it. How did he expect him to forget everything he had just seen? Was he threatening him? Shock almost gone now, Dan realized that he no longer felt very intimidated by this man. Biting his tongue, Dan narrowed his eyes at him, as if to say ' _that is not going to happened dude'._

 _Crash!_

Another bolt of lightning shot across the sky and the alley light that they were under lite back up and rained its light down on them, temporarily blinding Dan. He closed his eyes again to protect them. As he did this, he felt the hand on his throat suddenly loosen and pressure that was applied lift, allowing him to breathe. Unsure of the assassin's sudden act of leniency, Dan knew that with the light on them they had a clear view of the each other's face. Opening his eyes again, he looked back to the assassin to see if he did know him. His shock returned. He was young, probably only a few years older than himself, but that was not what he was focused on.

The assassin's eyes looked normal. Staring directly at his eyes they still possessed their golden hue, but their pupils had changed and become human-like. The murderous glow that they had possessed seemed to have disappeared into the light. Dan had never encountered anyone could manipulate their eyes like that, but there was something else as well. The assassin was looking at him with the same wide-eyed look that people got when they were surprised by his face, as if he was surprised to see that person whose throat he was clutching was Dan's.

"Dan?"

Hearing his name, Dan froze. The assassin had said it so quietly and with such uncertainly that it was almost as though he was guessing it, but he also said it with such familiarity it was as though he knew Dan personally. He had said it in a way that it seemed to roll off his tongue, like he had said his name before. That was impossible, however, for Dan had never seen this man before in his life! Sure, he was widely known in the intergalactic Bakugan circuit, but he seriously doubted that this man played the game. Even if he had heard of him, most of his enemies called him 'Alden' or 'Dan Alden', never just _Dan._

There was a long silence. Dan was not sure how long they stood there staring at each other, their expressions mirroring each other's shock. He did not move when the assassin's gaze broke and his eyes drifted down to where he was holding Dan's neck. Ever so slowly he lifted one of his fingers off his throat and pressed it lower on his neck. He did this with another, and another. Dan probably should have been struggling to escape from the grasp, but he was too mesmerized by the assassin's character change. He was still utterly terrified of what was happening to him, yet for some strange reason he could sense that the assassin was trying to be…gentle with him. He allowed the assassin to continue and shuttered as he felt the hand crawl down his neck, feeling their cool tips push gently against his warm flesh, as if they were looking for something.

It stopped at the collarbone, the tips brushed up against the chain that was concealed by Dan's shirt. He narrowed his eyes and in a manner that was no longer gentle, he grabbed the chain. In one yank, he broke the clasp and tore it off of Dan's neck. Without the support of the assassin's hand to hold him up, Dan found himself on his hands and knees on the ground. The action happened so quickly that he was once again lost in what had just happened to him. He looked up at the assassin, who was studying the chain in his hand, the seriousness in his face and eyes had returned. Then he closed his fingers around Dan's chain and looked down at him.

"It is you."

Without warning the sky opened up and down poured on their heads. Another flash of lightning consumed his vision again, but when it faded, the assassin vanished.

Dan didn't even blink. He just sat there in the alley and stared up at the spot where the assassin had stood as the rain hit his face. He had never felt so weak in all his life: his arms and legs felt like jelly, he could not breathe, and once again his brain was having a hard time processing what had just experienced. That assassin knew him- that was the only thing he could comprehend- but the question was how? What's more was that he, Daniel Alden, was afraid of him. When he looked into his eyes the first time, they were the eyes of a skilled, cold-blooded murderer that cared little about human life. Yet what terrified him even more was that when he looked at them a second time, when they were normal looking, how easily he had submitted to them. For behind their shock they seemed to be pleading with Dan, as if they wanted something from him. And Dan was more than willing to compile.

It was fear, it had to be. The fear for his life and the fear he had towards the assassin was unlike anything he felt before. He had never felt this way towards his regular enemies, but this assassin was different, and he did not know why. Still in a daze, Dan turned his head to see Drago floating at his eye level; they did not know what to say to the other. Turning his head the other way, he saw the bodies lying in the street. Seeing the body of the fat man, he wondered if any of the other men were still alive.

It was then realization hit him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Drago. Clutching him in his fist, his legs seemed to function on their own as he dashed down the street, leaving the limousine and bodies behind. His heart was pounding rapidly, he didn't care about the rain or that he was soaking wet, he just wanted to distance himself from that place. He ran and ran and didn't stop running until he was in front of his house. He barged through the door and slammed it closed, locking it quickly. He then darted up the stairs to his room. Once there he locked that door too and looked around. He opened his hand and allowed Drago to fly out of it so he could breathe. Pressing his back against his door, he slide down to the floor and hugged his knees.

Drago floated to the floor and looked at his partner. He wanted to console him, but what could he say? He had never seen Dan like this before, so scared and weak, he did not understand how anyone could reduce another to this…state.

"Dan," he asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know, Drago," he choked on his own words and refused to look at his partner. "I don't know."

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 **Love or not? I love reviews.**


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